Category Archives: Sustainability

When it comes to facilities management, sustainability just makes sense. It affects the bottom line, it’s woven into operations, and in the experience economy it plays a major role in employee and client satisfaction. That’s the message from JLL’s President of Global Integrated Facilities Management Maureen Ehrenberg, who offers some suggestions on how to improve your sustainability game, no matter your FM role. New technologies, the latest vendors and extra training all provide new pathways towards sustainability in FM, Ehrenberg says.

As a global society, we have been grappling with sustainability for many years. It doesn’t help that the definition of the term is open to interpretation—and constantly changing. As individuals we each have different capacities and responsibilities, and to me, sustainability is about pooling our strengths to make a positive impact on the world we live in.

At JLL, our vision is to create spaces, buildings and cities where everyone can thrive. According to the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), buildings are responsible over 40 percent the world’s energy consumption and one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions.

It is clear, we have a lot of work to do. But rather than feeling overwhelmed, we can view this as a great opportunity. True, changing habits is not easy—especially at scale—but when you focus on the payoffs, it becomes a no brainer.

As outlined in JLL’s 2016 Global Sustainability Report, our sustainability services generated revenue of $27 million last year. We also helped US clients save an estimated 282 metric tons of CO2e, an equivalent of around $59 million in costs. That’s roughly the same as 29,000 homes’ worth of energy consumption.

Sustainability is not just about the environment. It is about resilient communities, and wellbeing on both the individual and societal level.… Read More

With the inauguration of a new US President today, our clients and colleagues have been asking where the wind is blowing in regards to alternative and clean energy.

A number of sources have reported that not only are clean and alternative energy sources positive for protecting the natural world while fueling energy needs, but that these sources create many jobs nationwide.

GreenBiz magazine sat down with Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA), and discussed how sustainablity is a movement providing “leadership, innovation and going beyond simple compliance” and that “worker engagement is one of the fundamental tenets of a comprehensive safety and health program.”

Michaels noted in the Q&A that “Worker engagement is one of the fundamental tenets of a comprehensive safety and health program… Worker engagement… Read More

The US Department of Energy (DOE) hosted its annual Solid-State Lighting (SSL, or better known as LED) Technology Development Workshop in Denver, CO on November 16th and 17th. The event was attended by 180 industry members from various backgrounds including, manufacturers, utilities, designers, municipalities and academia, all working to drive mass adoption of LEDs throughout the US.